Progress 8: What you need to know

As schools prepare for Progress 8 league tables to be published next week, Tes answers the big questions being asked about the measure

The Department for Education will publish the national secondary school league tables next week, based on provisional data from this summer’s GCSE results. Schools will finally be able to compare their provisional score for Progress 8 – the government’s headline secondary school accountability measure – with other schools across the country.

Here are some of the biggest questions being asked about the measure:

How much attention should be given to provisional scores?

The provisional Progress 8 scores should be treated with caution, as the final Progress 8 scores do not come out until January.

The provisional data will not include any re-marks, and it is likely that there will be more this year compared with the year before, due to the GCSE reforms – so this could change the scores.

Why do some heads already know how their results compare with other schools?

However, this year, for the first time, the Association of School and College Leaders was able to provide its members with Attainment 8 estimates – to help them work out their Progress 8 scores – just days after GCSE results’ day.

More than 1,000 secondary schools shared their results anonymously to work out averages. Once they had worked out the Attainment 8 estimates, these were shared with ASCL members.

Is it seen as a fairer measure?

Schools are no longer judged on how many of their pupils achieve five A* to C grades at GCSE. Progress 8 instead takes into account the achievements of pupils of all abilities.

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